Page 18 of Never Gonna Happen

Emily smiled apologetically, wishing she was better at telling guys she didn’t want to date them. While Mark was on the scene she’d justifiably been able to say ‘I’ve got a boyfriend’ without having to elaborate, but she wasn’t going to invent one to protect Leon’s feelings. She’d have to bite the bullet and be honest with him, but maybe now wasn’t the time.

‘Thank you for looking after my car,’ she said, dropping into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. She waved and pulled away, noting that he was still watching her when she reached the end of the driveway.

Chapter Twelve

Emily arrived at the stables the following morning feeling jittery and nervous, trying to convince herself that it was more about getting on a horse than seeing Jamie again. She was also wearing a new pair of black leggings, having bought some decent ones in Norwich yesterday. The old ones were all plucked from the brambles and had gone a bit baggy in the crotch, so they were now stuffed in the wheelie bin.

Jamie was waiting in the yard, leaning against the wall and squinting into the autumn sunshine. He said good morning and gave Emily a smile that made her want to throw up and also snog his face off, although probably not in that order.

‘This is the tack room,’ he said, showing her into a dark space at the end of a row of stables. ‘We keep all the important stuff in here.’ The room smelled of leather and soap and damp wool, the walls lined with saddles and bridles and blankets. Emily fished through a row of riding boots until she found a pair in her size, then turned to face Jamie so he could give her some gloves and she could try a helmet on. It wasn’t like the fancy black velvet riding hats she’d seen in pictures – more like a plastic scooter helmet with a small brim. His brow knotted in concentration as he adjusted the strap under her chin, making Emily feel a bit sweaty. She clamped her lips together in the hope that he couldn’t smell the Marmite on her breath, and noted that his eyes were definitely grey rather than blue and the chin stubble was trimmed and tidy. Her thoughts drifted to him lying in bed, then him in bed naked. He didn’t seem the pyjamas type.

‘All done,’ said Jamie, booting Emily out of her lustful daydream. ‘Come and meet Rupert.’ He grabbed a helmet off a peg and led Emily out the other door to the yard, where a brown horse was tied to a metal railing, already saddled and tacked up.

‘He’s a lovely steady chap,’ said Jamie, patting Rupert on the side of the neck. ‘I promise he won’t carry you off into the sunset.’

Emily shoved aside the inappropriate direction of her thoughts and gave Rupert a pat. He was reddy-brown and shiny like a conker, with kind eyes and a white stripe on his nose. He nudged Emily’s hand and made a whickering noise.

‘Who usually rides him?’ she asked.

‘We’ve got a few grooms and stable hands who help out,’ said Jamie, untying the reins from the railing. ‘Keep the horses exercised and looked after. We also work with a local charity that offers riding lessons for adults with disabilities. Rupert is the star of the show, everybody loves him.’

Emily relaxed a little, thinking that Rupert sounded ideal for a novice like her. She stopped stroking his nose and he biffed her shoulder, like a dog demanding belly rubs.

‘OK,’ said Jamie, holding out the reins. ‘Time to climb aboard.’

Emily looked doubtfully at the height of the saddle and wondered how the hell she was supposed to get up there.

‘Fine,’ said Jamie, rolling his eyes. ‘You can do it the easy way, just this once.’ He led Rupert over to the stone mounting block in the middle of the yard and nodded at Emily to climb up. ‘Hold the reins in your left hand, put your left foot in the stirrup, then push up and swing your right leg over. Easy.’

Emily took a deep breath and replayed the instructions in her head as she worked through each step. Hold the reins, left foot in, push and swing. She looked down at Jamie and started to laugh nervously. ‘Fucking hell, I’m on a horse.’

‘Yes, you are,’ said Jamie with a grin. ‘Now you just have to stay on.’ He fiddled around for a while, tightening the strap under the horse and adjusting the length of her stirrups. Rupert didn’t move, and Emily wondered what all the fuss was about.

Jamie disappeared into the stables for a minute, then returned with the white horse who’d eaten her offer letter and scared her on her run. ‘This is Luna,’ he said. ‘She’s a bitch, but she’s also my favourite.’

‘How many horses do you have?’ Emily asked.

‘Currently twelve,’ said Jamie. ‘Chester and Lucifer, who belong to Dad and Adam. Rupert and Luna. Tucker, another steady fellow that we use for disabled riders, but he’s currently lame. And Star, who belongs to my mother, but she never rides him. The other six all belong to locals; we just provide livery.’

Emily had no idea what livery was and decided not to ask, instead watching Jamie pop his foot in the stirrup and leap on to Luna’s back without bothering with the mounting block. Just watching him made her thighs hurt, amongst other sensations.

‘Are you ready?’ asked Jamie. ‘Just sit up straight and hold the reins loosely.’ Emily nodded, so Jamie set off towards the gate that led to one of the estate paths. Rupert followed without Emily having to do anything, which took her by surprise. The swaying movement was a lot more side-to-side than she’d expected, and it felt quite unnerving at first. But after a couple of minutes she got used to it and tried to relax.

‘Where would you like to go?’ asked Jamie, turning in the saddle to look at her as they followed the main estate road away from the house.

‘What are my options?’ she replied.

Jamie held up two fingers. ‘I can show you the estate, or we can head out and see the countryside.’

‘I’d actually really love to see the estate today,’ said Emily, hoping the unspoken you can show me the countryside another day wasn’t too obvious.

‘No problem,’ said Jamie. ‘Sit tight and I’ll take you on a tour.’

Emily grinned excitedly, enjoying being so high up and plodding along at such a gentle pace. It reminded her of the narrowboat holiday they’d taken when she was little, relaxing into a new pace and rhythm until it began to feel perfectly normal.

‘Am I doing this right?’ she asked as the path widened and Jamie pulled back so he could walk alongside her.

‘You’re a natural,’ he said, with a smile that made her feel warm inside. ‘It’s nice to go riding with someone – my girlfriend absolutely hates it.’